Trucker rescues two women after SUV plunges off bridge near Scott

Photo provided by Scott Fire Department -- A SUV lay overturned off of the Eastbound lane of Interstate10 near Scott. An unidentified man saved two women who were ejected from the vehicle.

SCOTT— The driver of a tractor-trailer driving on I-10 eastbound near Scott rescued two women after their SUV ran off a bridge into water early Saturday morning, authorities said.

The man, who was not identified and drove off after seeing the women safely in the hands of emergency crews, told the Scott Volunteer Fire Department he witnessed the incident just before 3 a.m., fire officials said in a news release.

The trucker told firefighters that he saw the women ejected from their vehicle and floating face-down in the water and jumped in to pull both to safety, the release says.

Chief Chad P. Sonnier said firefighters responded to the single-vehicle crash, in which the SUV “drove through the guardrail of a bridge, landing upside down in a ditch, partially submerged underwater.”

When firefighters arrived, the trucker was standing chest-deep in the water with the two semiconscious women at the edge of the water, the release says.

Emergency personnel with Acadian Ambulance stabilized both women, securing each to a spine board before taking them to a nearby hospital, Sonnier said in the release.

The Fire Department used a ladder as a bridge across the water to bring the victims to the ambulance, Sonnier said.

Both women received moderate injuries and are expected to recover, Sonnier said.

Once the man who pulled them from the water saw they were safe and receiving the medical care they needed, he left in his truck “as if nothing happened,” the release says.

“In today’s world, many are hesitant to assist total strangers,” Sonnier said. “Emergency medical officials firmly believe this act of kindness may have saved two lives.”